


Love and Awkwardness

by ADashOfStarshine (ADashOfInsanity)



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Humor, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-02
Updated: 2012-09-02
Packaged: 2017-11-13 09:32:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/502041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADashOfInsanity/pseuds/ADashOfStarshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: It's the beorc festival of Valentine's Day tomorrow and Ike is having some trouble working out how to confess to his potentially-tricky partner. It's time for some advice from some very strange sources, but will it make any difference? Valentines is certainly the time for love and awkwardness!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love and Awkwardness

**Author's Note:**

> Features mainly IkexSoren with mentions of TibarnxReyson, OscarxKieran and onesided IkexElincia.

"Commander, are you alright?"

Ike jerked to attention as he realised that the paladin was standing in the entrance to the meeting tent. He had been leaning on the table staring vaguely at the blank space of canvas opposite him as if he couldn't actually see it. It was currently a hectic time in the camp-site, only an hour and a half ago Makalov had fallen asleep whilst on horse-watch and had therefore had allowed Haar's wyvern to land amidst them and scare them into scattering about the entire camp. Most of the day had been spent recovering them, the Pegasi being the most frustrating as they were very keen to stand in places unreachable to those without wings. However Titania clearly didn't believe that it was the escaped horses that were stressing out their Commander and General. It seemed quite a different matter if Ike had taken to staring into space with such a troubled expression on his face. Escaped horses didn't require that much thought.

"Titania?" Ike inquired, as if he wasn't quite sure she was there. The Deputy Commander strode into the tent and took the stool opposite Ike's with an air of decisive action.

"Commander, what's wrong?" she asked, her tone was soft but there was a hint of command in it. She couldn't order her own Commander to answer her but she was most certainly going to try her very hardest to find out what was wrong if he was in this state.

"I'm confused," groaned Ike into one of his hands, "There's something I need to do, and I don't know how to do it." He looked tired, as if he stayed up all night, probably thinking about what was bothering him so much Titania thought. He certainly appeared worse for wear and Titania knew it was her duty as second in command to find out what was ailing their leader and remove or solve it as soon as possible.

"Is it anything you would like my assistance with?" she offered calmly.

"No…" Ike growled, "No, it's not company-based, it's not even professional!" He seemed annoyed with himself now. He had looked straight up with such frustration in his eyes that the effect was quite startling. Something was driving him mad with annoyance! If it wasn't work related what could it possibly be?

"What about assistance as a friend?" Titania asked, still keen to do all she could.

"Well…it's personal really," Ike replied, scowling at his gloves, "And I've been thinking about it for ages, and I know I should just say it now in case anything horrible happens and one of us gets hurt before I can say it, but I don't know how!

"Ah," Suddenly it struck Titania how personal this must be. This wasn't a commander problem. It wasn't a soldier problem. She never thought she'd see the day but it had become so obvious now… Ike was suffering a teenage-boy problem! It shouldn't have been so surprising, he was only seventeen, but he had adapted to his new role as Lord so easily that he seemed to have by-passed the awkward bridge into adulthood, ridden with strange feelings, and gone straight into his father's shoes. However it was clear as the day that he now had feelings for someone and he wanted to confess them but didn't know how. It was a typical teenager problem, she could remember it herself. She had had a burning crush on one of the men she had first worked with in the Royal Knights that she had always lent to raging teenage emotions. Nothing ever came of it of course. Would it be the same of Ike?

"Why don't you talk to your sister if you're trying to be romantic?" Titania suggested, "She'll give you some advice; you know she loves that kind of thing."

"I am not going to Mist." Ike said firmly, "I will never go to Mist. She'll just tease and laugh at me. Then she'd probably tell the whole camp about it."

"I'm sure she wouldn't," Titania assured him, though she wasn't quite sure herself. Sibling rivalry did have to be taken into account and there was no doubt that Mist would find her brother pining for love incredibly amusing.

"Well it's Valentine's Day tomorrow," she concluded, "Everyone will be in the mood for love so I'm sure it'll get easier."

"Maybe," Ike replied, "But I want to tell them today, now, if I could think how. I've been thinking about them for such a long time and strangely the war has really brought us close…"

Suddenly a strange sound interrupted him from outside the tent. It resembled a cross between a squeak and a cry and by its high pitched nature it was definitely female. Ike and Titania looked about suspiciously, as if they thought someone was spying on them. Ike's hand went to the hilt of his steel sword, annoyed that someone had been listening in to his intimate problems. However as the squeaker appeared Titania batted his hand away from his sword frantically, so not to cause offense. Elincia entered the tent with flushed cheeks and an incredibly nervous air about her. She was wearing a long moss-green cloak to fend off the cold which she was currently gripping in two pale shaking hands. Her eyes were wide and she looked rather excited past all the nervousness. Her bright eyes sparkled with tentative happiness as she trod quickly into the tent to face the two Greil Mercenaries.

"Good morning your highness," Titania greeted with a low curtsey which looked oddly feminine for her, clad as she was in full shining armour. Ike gave a swift bow, though not in the mood for such pleasantries.

"Good morning Titania, my Lord Ike," Elincia replied, smiling as she spoke, "I did not mean to overhear your discussion but I was about to use this tent to meet with General Tanith. I didn't know it was being used."

"It's fine," Ike replied, getting to his feet and adjusting his headband as he trudged to the tent entrance.

"Lord Ike!" Elincia called after him as Titania left. Ike doubled back and Elincia beckoned him back into the tent.

"Yes?" Ike asked, wondering what she could possibly want him for. Elincia flushed pinker as she held onto her cloak tightly as if trying to contain herself. She seemed on edge with nerves, as if she was about to take some great gamble in talking to him. Ike found himself curious about what could be so risky about a simple conversation.

"I heard what you were talking about," She said sweetly, "And I want to let you know I'm sure it'll be fine however you do it." Ike blinked at her in surprise. Was she trying to give him confession-advice?

"Really?" he asked her, puzzled, "How do you know?"

"I'm sure the person you like…" She gave an uncharacteristic nervous giggle, "Likes you too,"

"Really?" Ike replied, now sounding mystified, "He's quite a temperamental person, how can you be sure?" Ike stepped forward in alarm as suddenly all the colour drained itself from Elincia's face and she suddenly looked incredibly ill. She was shaking more than ever and Ike thought she might fall over at any moment and considered calling for Rhys or Mist immediately.

"He?" gasped Elincia. Ike gave a simple nod and Elincia looked about she was about to faint.

"I know they don't really hold with that kind of thing in Begnion," Ike said hastily, "But where I used to live it was alright, there were quite a few same sex couples in the nearby village. It's not that strange here either! Look at Oscar and Kieran."

"I…I wasn't disapproving of homosexual couples!" Elincia said frantically, "I…I was just a bit…surprised, that's all. You've…you've always been a favourite of lots of the women round the camp!"

"I have?" Ike asked, sounding like it was the first time he'd ever heard of it. Elincia stared at him in disbelief, she almost looked as if she was about to cry. Her bottom lip began to tremble and before Ike could get another word in she cried,

"Just get them some flowers!" And ran out of the tent in hysterics. Ike poked his head out of the tent looking utterly baffled at her reaction.

"Thank you! I will!" he called after her. Flowers! He hadn't thought of flowers. But would his hopefully-lover-to-be even like flowers? Probably not but it was worth a try. He was getting pretty desperate.

Ike walked to the edge of camp knowing that any flowers that could have grown where their camp site had been placed would have been either trampled beyond recognition or eaten by the horses. He had to walk about five minutes away from camp to find any kind of intact fauna and he considered it a stroke of luck that they were camped only a few minutes away from a little wood-like area full of spindly trees, patches of moss and, he hoped, lots of flowers. 

He turned out to be right. As he walked through the wiry trees he spotted a dip where the ground suddenly dove downwards, creating a little basin in the middle of the trees. He stood at its rim and was pleased to see at least six different colours of flowers all growing randomly, tumbling about each other in wild leafy abandonment. Ike stared at them wondering whether any of them could be considered romantic and which ones were considered weeds or not. He didn't know anything about flowers but he knew giving someone weeds wasn't very romantic. Now, which of these were weeds…that was the problem.

"You seem troubled General Ike,"

Ike jumped and turned, drawing his sword in surprise at the sudden announcement. He quickly sheathed it as Prince Reyson emerged from behind a cluster of birch trunks. The heron was smiling amusedly at his shock as he came to stand by the basin of flowers, beside the confused lord. Reyson knelt down at the natural dip full of fauna and took a small clump of purple star-like blossoms between his pale palms. It suddenly occurred to Ike that this was the first time he had seen the heron without the company of at least one other bird laguz. Usually Janaff and Ulki were keeping close guard of him so how had Reyson managed to wander out of camp like this? They were a good distance away too; if the heron was attacked he would be defenceless!

"Is it safe that you're out here on your own?" he asked, watching as Reyson gently parted the stems of two entwined plants.

"I'm perfectly fine," Reyson replied nonchalantly, "Besides, Janaff is playing a beorc game with one of the men that work for you. They are at the very edge of camp so Janaff could keep an eye on me if he wanted to." He gave a small sigh,

"And besides I have found you now so if we are in any danger, I am sure we will both survive," He went back to unknotting the flowers. Ike didn't know whether to feel grateful or flattered by that statement so merely continued staring at the basin of flowers, watching the Heron Prince gently prise them apart. Reyson seemed to appreciate the flowers, would he know which of them could be considered romantic? Ike still didn't know whether the object of his affections would even want flowers but it was sort-of a convention. Love and flowers did always seem to hand in hand in all the instances he could think of.

"Prince Reyson?" he inquired.

"You require flowers to court yourself a mate but you don't know which would be considered appropriate," Reyson replied smoothly, pausing for a second in his flower arranging. Ike stared at him for a moment then remembered the fact that herons could read minds. Reyson had just read his thoughts! Maybe he'd been reading them since he'd first arrived! Reyson was smiling as Ike tried to come up with an answer to this sudden invasion of privacy. However Reyson, who was acting as if this was as natural as the day was long, merely continued his newly discovered task.

"These wildflowers are distant cousins of their fellows in the Serenes Forest; you can tell by the way they grow with such abandon and colour. However if you wish for something truly special for this beorc festival of yours, then perhaps I can do you a favour if you do one for me in return," Reyson smiled wider at his own words.

"A favour?" Ike asked, intrigued by Reyson's suggestion of something 'truly special', "What do I have to do?"

"Convey a message to Tibarn for me," Reyson said simply. Ike shrugged, that seemed easy enough.

"Sure," he agreed.

"Good," Reyson replied decisively, he glanced at Ike and then returned to the flowers once more. As Ike watched on, the heron leant over the natural basin and let the flowing words of the Ancient Language escape his lips in a song so quiet that Ike had to strain to hear it. Ike could only watch as Reyson sung light into the uncoiled plant life. An ethereal green glow enveloped half the basin, emitting from every leaf and petal within the heron's grasp. Ike tried to get a good look at the galdr's effects but the light became too bright for him to look directly at. He was left to sit on a nearby log and wait for the Heron Prince to finish his song.

"Here you are," Reyson rose to his feet and turned to show Ike the product of his singing. Ike's eyes widened at the sight of the largest flowers he had ever seen. What had been tiny little blossoms the size of coins had become as large as saucers and each flower head glowed with a bizarre light the same shade as its petals. Ike reached forward and took the bunch of flowers, wary of thorns, and proceeded to staring at them in amazement.

"They will remain fresh thrice as long as other picked blossoms if you keep them in water," Reyson informed him, "I'm sure your mate..." Suddenly the heron gave a little laugh behind his hand, "I'm sure he'll be very appreciative of this gesture." He finished.

"Thanks very much," Ike said appreciatively, "What was your message for Tibarn?"

"Tell him..." Reyson mused, he gave another strange laugh, "Tell him I expect to be celebrating the beorc festival of Valentine's Day this year with the rest of the camp. And I want to celebrate...with all associated activities, if you catch my drift."

"Err, sure," Ike replied, clearly not catching his drift at all, "I'll tell him as soon as possible," Reyson merely nodded and then drifted back through the trees still smiling that surprisingly sly expression for someone as serene as a heron. Ike shrugged and headed back to camp. It must be Tibarn rubbing off on him Ike concluded as he left the tree-line.

He made his way back into camp clutching a glowing bunch of flowers. This, understandably, drew a lot of attention his way as people stared at their Commander, unsure whether to be more confused about why the flowers were glowing, or why the Commander was walking through camp with flowers in the first place. He certainly drew murmurs and mutters from all he passed, and he knew he was sparking rumours with every step he took through the camp. However he didn't care what the whisperers and mutterers thought.

He was perfectly entitled to walk through the camp with a bunch of flowers, especially when it was so close to Valentine's Day. He knew for a fact there were actual couples round the camp who were preparing for the festival today. It was a little last-minute but he was sure everyone would work out what they were doing by tomorrow. Of course he'd given no sign before now that he was joining in with the event, but hey, that just made it more a nice surprise to his 'mate' as Reyson called him. Ike was still unsure whether his potential-partner would like surprises and flowers though...

"Why hello! Has some pretty lady finally caught the great hero's eye?" Ike didn't jump this time. He'd twice glimpsed the tip of a blue tail on the horizon and had known Ranulf must be lying in wait for him. The cat sat himself on top of crate and grinned at the General mischievously.

"Or no pretty lady judging by the fact Lucia and Bastian have spent the last half an hour trying to calm Princess Elincia down. Rumour has it you're curly at the ends of your whiskers!"

"What?" Ike asked, sounding surprised. Elincia was really distressed? Was it something he said? Should he go and apologise? And what was this about something being curly?

"Elincia's in hysterics," Ranulf said casually, leaning back with a flick of his tail, "Apparently she feels really foolish for making some sort of assumption and it turned out she was wrong and now she's really sad about it. I'm sure it'll blow over. And come on, curly at the ends of your whiskers? Everyone's heard of that one!"

"If they're Gallian," Ike replied as Ranulf continued to grin cattishly at him. Ranulf sighed, raising his hands in the air in a mock-expression of hopelessness

"I'll just have to teach you uneducated beorcs then," he fake-huffed, "To be curly at the ends of your whiskers, is another way of saying you're gay," He spoke with the tone of explaining something very simple to someone very dumb, but Ike knew he only did it in jest.

"Then I do have...curly whiskers or whatever, " Ike replied, "Don't see why it has to be dressed up with weird sayings."

"If everyone was as blunt as you Ike, it wouldn't be," Ranulf chuckled, "Well, you've got all the ladies in a spin then. They'll be devastated!"

Ike sat down on the crate next to Ranulf's and proceeded to look at him with a rather bemused expression on his face. He hastily moved his flowers away from the wrath of Ranulf's constantly-flicking tail as he said,

"You're making that up," he chuckled, "If there was anyone who fancied me, they would have given me some sort of sign,"

Ranulf almost fell off his crate from laughing so much. He lurched from his sitting position and almost fell head over heels onto the ground but grabbed onto the crate just in time to stop the immanent forward roll. He clutched the crate and rocked with what seemed like uncontrollable mirth. Ike stared at him, looking faintly alarmed for his friend's health. When Ranulf continued to be entirely too happy for the situation, Ike got up and decided this was obviously some sort of cat-thing that he didn't understand. He was just about to leave Ranulf to it when the cat suddenly lurched forward to grab his arm to stop him going.

"Ok, ok," Ranulf gasped, wiping tears from his mismatched eyes "Ok, you've caused me enough amusement, so I'll help you out." Ike stepped back again, hoping whatever was so funny had stopped now.

"This works on everyone," Ranulf assured him, "The best gift you could give to someone who wants to be your mate." Ike paused. He might as well hear what he had to say, it could prove more useful than flowers.

"Alright, what you do," explained Ranulf, "Is you buy one of those little beorc hunting knives, a dagger works too, and then you decorate the end with some cord with feathers and beads on it. I know for a fact when King Tibarn was courting Prince Reyson he gave him a decorated knife! That proves it works for all species!"

"But, the person I like probably already has his own knife," Ike pointed out, he had a little suspicion that maybe knives were rarer in Gallia where they fought with their claws so they were regarded as a bit more special there.

"But this is a proper gift!" Ranulf exclaimed, "The personal decoration makes it a romantic gesture! Go and get him a knife! I swear it definitely works!"

"I'll give it a go," Ike promised him. If Ranulf was that determined and it worked for Tibarn there did have to be some sort of truth behind the knife's romantic power. However he never really thought that something you either ate with, or stabbed with, as faintly romantic. Well, things were different in different countries he guessed and he still didn't know what his potential-lover would like, so maybe a knife, something useful, would be just the thing.

Now he had decided he needed another gift, his next port of call had to be the merchant's caravan. Of course this was an incredibly risky journey, especially when holding a bunch of flowers. Even if he tried finding them under his cape the glow shone through the thick material so couldn't be hidden very well. He just hoped he could find Muston and a knife before Aimee caught wind of his presence and he'd end up fleeing before he could get his gift. He approached the merchant's main tent and pushed back the flap to see who was currently keeping shop.

"Good afternoon Commander!"

"Hello Ike!"

He was glad to see that the twins seemed to supervising things but then again, maybe a chase round the campsite by Aimee would be preferable to seeing the other customer who seemed to have arrived shortly before he had.

"Hello Jorge, Daniel...Mist."

Mist was staring very obviously at the bunch of fluorescent flowers in her brother's hand with a wide grin across her face. She had one hand on her hip and in the other she had her coin purse. There was a Mend staff on the line of crates that created a rudimentary counter-top. However it seemed Mist had forgotten all about her purchase at the sight of her awkward brother. She looked immensely smug and Ike was now wondering whether he'd like to take on Aimee instead.

"Is there anything you need Commander?" Jorge asked, "Muston, Aimee and Ilyana have gone to a nearby town to stock up on essentials, we're in charge today."

"I'm looking for a knife," Ike replied, rather unsettled by the fact Mist hadn't stopped staring at him.

"Any particular type?" Daniel asked. Ike considered this for a moment before asking,

"Which is the most functional, but still quite nice looking?"  
Mist giggled loudly and started to bounce up and down on her heels with excitement. She peered at the glowing flowers in Ike's hand and he hastily whipped them away. This was why he told Titania that he wasn't going to tell Mist. She was finding this way too amusing!

"Well we find the steel ones are probably the most functional," said Jorge, "And you could say they look quite good,"

"How much is one?" Ike asked, he couldn't really judge whether knives were pretty, however he was sure that once he'd added some beads and feathers like Ranulf suggested it would look marginally alright. He paid and left with the knife wrapped up in a scrap of cloth. Mist tagged along behind him, still wildly excited. Ike made it out of the merchants' area before she rounded on him. She skipped round him and blocked his path, clasping her hands behind her back with an air of great expectance about her.

"So?" she said in a sing-song voice that showed she clearly was expecting an answer out of him, "Who's the lucky guy?"

"You don't seem that surprised," Ike replied, trying to find somewhere convenient to put the knife. He ended up putting it in the bunch of flowers. It was by far the most bizarre bouquet and it certainly wasn't anything out of a romance novel, but it was a convenient holding place and the glowing from the flowers did make the blade sparkle.

"Of course it's not a surprise," Mist chirruped, "So who is it? You've got to tell me! Sister's privilege!"

"Because you're my sister, I'm not going to tell you," Ike retorted, "You'll just squeal and run off to tell everyone."

"I wouldn't!" Mist huffed, putting both hands on her hips as they continued to walk onwards.

"You would,"

"Wouldn't!"

"Would!"

"So wouldn't!"

"Would! You can't deny..."

"Have you quite finished being immature?" Mist and Ike whipped round to see Soren approaching from a nearby supply tent. He had a box in his arms stacked to the brim with vulnerary pouches and it seemed he was about to distribute them round the camp. Ike had fallen silent at his interruption and was now looking anywhere except the unamused tactician standing before them. Mist looked between Soren and Ike with a suddenly widening gaze.

"I know!" She piped up, "Why don't I give out the vulneraries and Ike can... explain his immature behaviour!" She hurried over to Soren and lifted the box from his arms. Soren didn't object, it was one less job on his probably-endless list. However he did give Ike a questioning look as she ran away giggling madly.

"Don't mind her," Ike muttered, finally bringing himself to meet Soren's scarlet gaze. Soren nodded and proceeded to send a calculating glare at Ike's bunch of glowing flowers. Ike waited rather nervously for his reaction, if in doubt he could show him the knife, but the flowers seemed a lot more romantic and if Soren didn't like them...

"There are rumours all over the camp that you have maddening affections for someone," Soren suddenly stated. His voice was emotionless, no different to if he was making one of his post-battle reports. Even in one of those his tone became slightly warmer if they had done very well without spending too much. But this was just sheer blankness. It was rather disconcerting at such a tense moment.

"I heard," Ike replied, clutching the flowers and the handle of the knife tighter, "And they're right, I do." Was he going to confess now? Could he actually do it here and now, right this moment?

"Rumour also has it that you wish to participate in the festival known as Valentine's Day, which is happening tomorrow," Soren continued, "Is this also true?"

"Yes," Ike replied, "Well...if they accept me of course."

"Of course," Soren repeated tersely, "I have also heard you've been wandering round the camp asking for help from the strangest of people. Ranulf, Prince Reyson, you left Elincia in quite a state..." Ike suddenly expected to be reprimanded for ruining their relationship with their employer and how he had sent the company into a dangerous position which could affect future employment and therefore the fate of their whole company. However he received quite the opposite from Soren.

"As your tactician and advisor on matters both military and casual, and someone you have known as a personal...friend...for many years, why did you not consult me on this matter?"

Ike blinked at him. Was that why Soren was so blank-sounding? Was he angry that Ike hadn't gone for his advice as usual? How could have Ike gone for his advise! Soren was the one that Ike needed advice about! And now Soren had demanded an explanation, was this his cue to finally confess to the sage? He could say 'I didn't consult you, because it's you I've been thinking about all along', or he could try, 'I didn't want to ruin the surprise' and then present him properly with the flowers. Well, he should do something at least! Something more than simply standing there staring at Soren whilst the sage was obviously expecting an answer from him. He opened his mouth, trying to get the words out, but they just wouldn't come. Damn it! Why was this so difficult!

Soren suddenly decided it was his turn to speak again.

"My views on love and Valentine's Day may be a little different on those you spoke to before so it would kind of you to listen. " Ike stared at him, suddenly very alert. Soren was just going to tell him outright what he thought of love and confessions? Brilliant, now he could just tailor his confession around what Soren liked and it would all be fine!

"Valentine's Day," Soren began, "Is a festival of hypocrisy. We are told it is a festival of emotion and sensations that are meant to mean more than anything. We are told we experience feelings that are meant to be enough to survive eons with no other motivational factors to a partnership than pure emotion. In truth, Valentine's Day is merely a week or so of merchants pandering sugar and trinkets at ridiculously high prices, selling the common mind the idea that this true affection when actually the whole festival is built off wealth and greed. Beorc think they will secure affection if they have highly expensive gifts and many chose those who are wealthy, and therefore provide these gifts, to be their 'soul-mates'. They prove themselves greedier than a market-place full of crows."

Ike felt a sinking feeling somewhere in the pit of his stomach. Soren...didn't like Valentine's Day. But that didn't mean he wouldn't like his affections! Surely Soren didn't mind love?

"As for why we celebrate this festival," Soren continued, "Valentine himself was actually no romantic person, he was a Senator of Begnion. Senator Valentine was a charitable man who helped the isolated villages of Begnion out of poverty with great charitable donations. In his honour they named the festival after him but it seems utterly hypocritical to honour Valentine's deeds with such selfish notions of becoming obsessive over one person when Valentine's acts were to give charity to many less fortunate citizens. Those celebrating love on that day are completely selfish and besides, there is no such thing as true love."

Ike's stomach seemed to have been filled with lead. After all that worrying. After all that running around making a fool out of himself and causing so many rumours. Soren didn't believe in Valentine's Day and he didn't believe in love. What was Ike even still doing here? He should just go before Soren smashed his feelings to pieces!

"Love is simply a desire in our bodies to cover up the lucid desire to mate," Soren said, it seemed he had no idea how much his words were hurting his commander, "It is no doubt a Goddess-given mechanism in all beings that covers up the topic of the taboo and makes most of those who have offspring wish to stay together as a unit to provide appropriate role-models for the child as it is raised. The laguz call their partners their 'mates', it is obvious why, the one you love is simply the one you desire to mate with."

Ike wasn't given a chance to object as Soren promptly continued.

"Besides, true love is a ridiculous notion. Lovers are so wrapped in on themselves they believe they are happy through desperate moments and therefore they don't do anything about the world around them. Love for families and friends alienates the rest of the world, love for one other person makes you show illogical favouritism. And then there is the whole system of who is allowed to be loved, beorc may not love laguz, those of the same gender are not allowed to love each other in some cultures. If true love was really so pure and uncontrollable as Valentines-supporters preach, why then does it impose restrictions? Why can't everyone be loved and cared for? Why does it matter what you are? Love is a biased fairy-tale which..."

"Has anyone ever loved you?" Ike couldn't help himself. As content as Soren was to rant about the short-comings of love at great length, Ike had to interrupt him. He had suddenly thought of something. Soren had shared with him a great deal of his most personal secrets, things he'd never confessed to anyone else before. He told Ike of his horrid childhood, stories of neglect, loneliness, cruelty, how people hated him for simply having a mark on his head that just made him a bit different to everyone else. Whilst Soren was speaking his tirade against love his tone had changed, it had become angry and incredibly bitter.

Anger, Ike had heard before in his tactician's voice, but that mixture of rage and bitterness he'd only ever heard before in those late night secret confessions of Soren's. And now Soren was angrily proclaiming that why couldn't people be loved regardless of what they were, rather than who? It couldn't be a coincidence; therefore he had to ask that question.

"I hardly see whether that is relevant," Soren replied, looking rather caught off guard, a rare expression for him.

"Has anyone ever loved you?" Ike repeated, "It's definitely relevant." Soren's gaze flickered to the ground and then around them, as if try to catch any eavesdroppers to who may be prying into their conversation. He never usually failed to answer any of his Commander's questions unless they pried into something too personal. But Ike did know so much about him now and...

"No," he murmured, trying to remain stern but his gaze was softening, "No, nobody has ever loved me and due to false nature of true love, no one ever..."

"I do." There, he'd done it. In two little words, and he'd spoken them just when he'd needed to. Soren stared at Ike, suddenly speechless in surprise. His eyes had widened and his hands had fallen to his sides from when they'd previously been folded across his chest. If he had still been carrying the box of vulneraries they'd probably be all over the floor by now but neither man would care for Ike was nervously waiting for Soren's reaction, and Soren seemed too surprised to form another eloquent sentence.

"You...You do what?" he breathed.

"I do love you," Ike said, his nerves were on fire but suddenly speaking had become very easy and he was doing it clumsily and very quickly, "I mean, I love you. You may think that nobody would love you, but you're wrong, because I do. I love you!" He suddenly remembered the flowers and held them out.

"These are for you, not sure whether you'd want them but... I got you a romantic knife as well!" Soren stared at him as if he'd suddenly grown an extra head. However the sage still tentatively stepped forwards and then gently took the flowers from Ike's shaking grasp.

"A knife in a bouquet," Soren commented, he spoke quietly, in a tone devoid of his previous blankness, he seemed quite shaken. "A metaphor for affection. You think someone cares for you and everything is lovely and then suddenly they stab you in the back, betray you, and you're left alone all over again."

"No!" Ike protested, stepping forwards hastily, "No! It means...It means... It means that on the outside love is wonderful and pretty... like flowers...but...but... if something ever happened to the person I loved, or if someone was very cruel to them...my...my love would cause me take action and be violent...like a knife!" Soren let out a little laugh at his attempt to be metaphorical.

"It really means that you didn't know which would be a good gift so you stuck them together and decided to give both," he said amusedly

"More or less," was Ike's awkward reply, "But what I said is true. I do love you, and I've been trying to work out how to show it all day!" Soren said nothing to this and merely fiddled with one of the fluorescent flowers.

"Dragon-blossoms," he said randomly.

"What?" Ike asked.

"These flowers, it's what you call them, dragon-blossoms," Soren replied, "Any flower enriched with magic have the word 'dragon' placed before it to show its extraordinariness. It's usually used in medicine. This was a heron's work so Prince Reyson evidently has a sense of humour. He read your mind. He knew who you had affections for and prepared a little joke to remind me he knows what I am."

"Oh," Ike replied, "I'm sorry...I didn't know." It was true, how could he know Reyson was going to play a joke on Soren?!

"It's fine," Soren replied quickly, he was still staring at the flowers and Ike realised that the little lesson on magical-flowers may be Soren's way of buying some thinking time. It also occurred to him what danger this little joke could have done. Soren had thought badly of love because he thought that someone of his...birth...couldn't be loved. Ike needed to erase that idea completely!

"Soren, I don't care what you are," he said stepping forwards, advancing on the sage, "I never have, I'm friends with you because you're you, the blunt smart person who isn't afraid to tell anyone what he thinks, and the person who stops me getting beheaded by nobles when I do the same! And I love you because you're you and..." Suddenly Ike felt a very constricting feeling around his chest. He spluttered at the force as all air was squeezed from his lungs by two arms wrapped very tightly round his torso. His own arms were pinned so all he could really do was gasp.

"What are you doing?!"

"I..." Soren started, he buried his face against Ike's tunic, he seemed quite embarrassed, "I...believe this is called an embrace." Ike let out a wheezy laugh and gently loosened Soren's grip.

"It's a work in progress," Soren mumbled against his chest which only caused Ike to smile and embrace him back. They stood there with their arms around each other for a moment before Ike murmured,

"So what about you? Is love still as horrible as you described?"

"I may have perhaps jumped to some conclusions," Soren replied, still using Ike's chest as a vertical pillow, "And as for 'about me'...I..." He cleared his throat, "I may consider you as strange due to the fact you are the only one who has never hated me in some way, but.. I like that strangeness...I like you... Thank you Ike...thank you for the flowers, and the romantic knife, and for...loving me. " Ike held him closer, feeling the magic flowers scraping against the bare part of his arm. Their embrace lasted for a few minutes before they both grew embarrassed and let go.

"I'm not going to thank you for proving me wrong ever again!" Soren told him as soon as they parted. Ike laughed at his half-hearted sternness and put an arm round him.

"So will you be my Valentine?" he asked with a chuckle. Soren swatted his arm but allowed Ike's hand to catch his as he moved it. They started walking back towards the centre of camp as Soren clutched the magic joke-flowers to him and replied

"Yes I will be your Valentine Ike, and..." Soren glanced about once more to look for intruders and his tone fell to a whisper "And....and... and I think...I know...that I love you too," Ike grinned like a cat that'd got the cream. Soren had actually said it! It was like a dream come true!

"Can I use the 'romantic knife' if Aimee gets too close?" Soren suddenly asked, "If we're together now she has no right to lay claim on you." Ike laughed at his suggestion though he knew deep down that Soren may actually take this new idea to heart.

"Sure," he said cheerfully, "But first let's find Mist, who knows what rumours she's been circling about. Best clear up the truth from the gossip."

"That may be best," Soren confirmed.

With a nod and a small smile from each, they walked off into the busiest area of the campsite towards all that were probably already debating the person who would be by Ike's side on Valentine's Day. For now, who knew what everyone was going to think of this new coupling, but who really cared? Ike was not one for caring what others thought of him and he was sure Soren was of the same mind. Sure there were better things to do than walking round the camp hand in hand feeling warmly affectionate for each other, but tomorrow was Valentine's Day, so who could really judge them? Soon the rumours would die down and the days would return to normal. Nothing was truly strange about having another couple in the camp and yet, to Ike and Soren that is, it was the strangest and most wonderful thing in the world


End file.
